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Rank of Level

Started by Greentongue, March 22, 2014, 09:06:11 AM

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Greentongue

#15
March 23, 2014, 03:04:08 PM Last Edit: March 23, 2014, 03:07:34 PM by Greentongue
Quote from: Simlasa;738310Are PCs supposed to automatically be able to judge the Level of an NPC? That's in the rules? I wasn't aware of that... seems lame.

Shouldn't they be able to?
I have found that "successful" people WANT others to know it and often employ conspicuous consumption whether ostentatious or not.

Even in "class free" societies the members can tell the rank of others above or below them. Something as simple as an ink pen in your pocket is all it takes.
Be it a name brand watch or designer dress, they exist for a reason.

Ancient societies and even some modern ones have "caste" systems.
Warrior / Priest / Wizard / Ranger / Thief are common "castes" within games. "Only a ____ can do that!"
=

JamesV

#16
March 23, 2014, 04:16:23 PM
Just like the real world, some folks might try to misrepresent their reputation, however in the small, relatively close-knit occupation like "adventurer in a d&d setting" I think that the truth gets around pretty easy. At least it would between adventurers.

In other words, that fighter might try to pass himself as a hero, but what word is there about the dungeons/tombs/ruins has he plundered? Are there any rumors about him facing off with an ogre or troll, or has he just beat up and looted a few kobolds?
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Simlasa

#17
March 23, 2014, 04:26:28 PM
Quote from: Greentongue;738319Shouldn't they be able to?
I meant more like automatically and accurately. I think I'd prefer it to be a bit more vague... like, "He appears to be very experienced, he's got more scars than you" or somesuch. Also, that it takes a class to judge a class... so a Fighting Man might have much less clue about the status of a Magic User... whose ostentatious robes might impress but actually be a sign of being an amateur.

Wayback when I had issues with 'levels' in D&D but if there were a bit more in-game reflection of reputation and status within the class/career it would I'd like that.

1of3

#18
March 24, 2014, 08:32:33 AM
Quote from: Simlasa;738310Are PCs supposed to automatically be able to judge the Level of an NPC? That's in the rules? I wasn't aware of that... seems lame.

I go out of my way to convey the notion. I think the arbitraryness of D&D levels in current editions is a shame.


In my ideal game character level is reputation. It does not necessarily imply that you have social responsibility, but the higher you get the more noteworthy you are. That does not mean that people will always recognize a character, but they will recognize the name, or maybe a name. Like maybe a certain high leveled character is only known as the Empty Night Killer.

It's a funny thing. I have no problem with meta-game stats in general, but if there is a character level, I want it to mean something.

Bill

#19
March 26, 2014, 11:28:52 AM
Quote from: Greentongue;738146Traditionally each level in D&D was named for a rank in society.
How many people actually use that aspect and give the social trapping due to the character's rank?
=

I never used it. It has the base of a useful idea; some organizations might have ranks with titles but you would have to tailor it as needed or not.


The funniest one was I think in oriental adventures, where one of the Samurai's level titles was Ninja.   Epic Fail.

Simlasa

#20
March 26, 2014, 12:49:21 PM
Quote from: 1of3;738447In my ideal game character level is reputation. It does not necessarily imply that you have social responsibility, but the higher you get the more noteworthy you are. That does not mean that people will always recognize a character, but they will recognize the name, or maybe a name. Like maybe a certain high leveled character is only known as the Empty Night Killer.
The guy who ran our Earthdawn games was really good about carrying over that notion. Once we got up around 7th circle (level) the group was getting recognized fairly often in bigger cities.
It had good and bad elements. It was easier to get the attention/help of authorities... but prices on some things went up and our enemy list kept growing.
He was also good about spreading stories about us that got increasingly twisted up over time/distance. Sometimes it was really entertaining to arrive at a town and hear about some of the preposterous things we supposedly had done.
So yeah, level as reputation was quite fun.
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